- Experiential gifts
Experiential gifts also known as Gift Experiences, as pioneered in the UK since the 1990s, now represents one of the faster growing segments within the $253 billion a year
gift industry. As opposed to material gifts, those that are experiential in nature involve the recipient taking part in an experience, such as skydiving,kayaking , race car driving or tour of avineyard . Consumers who utilize experiential gifts have been referred to by [http://www.trendwatching.com/trends/transumers.htm Trendwatching.com] as transumers. The independent consumer trends firm defines transumers as:"...consumers driven by experiences instead of the ‘fixed’, by entertainment, by discovery, by fighting boredom, who increasingly live a transient lifestyle, freeing themselves from the hassles of permanent ownership and possessions. The fixed is replaced by an obsession with the here and now, an ever-shorter satisfaction span, and a lust to collect as many experiences and stories as possible."
Categories
Experiential gifts tend to fall into the following groups --
* "Adventure" - skydiving,
kayaking , whitewater rafting,hang gliding
* "Gourmet " -wine tasting , cigar tasting, gourmet cooking lessons
* "Environmentally friendly " - Segway city tours,whale watching
* "Rejuvenate" -spa treatments,pilates ,stone massage sMarket surveys
While the experiential gift market is already an established, highly competitive multi-million dollar market in the United Kingdom and in
Australia , it is still an emerging category in the U.S.A.The pioneer of the industry was the United Kingdom based Red Letter Days, which rose to meteoricfact|date=September 2008 heights before coming crashing down to virtual bankruptcy. A different model was trialled in
Australia with RedBalloon Days pioneering an online model which has proven extremely successful. RedBalloon Days is now the largest online retailer of experience based gifts in the world.A [http://home3.americanexpress.com/corp/pc/2005/gift_cards.asp survey] conducted in November, 2005 by American Express found that experiential gift giving was on the rise (30% of those surveyed planned on giving experiential gifts that year versus 23% the prior year). The survey also found that experiential gifts were particularly popular among younger consumers, age 18-44. A survey [http://reports.mintel.com/sinatra/reports/search_results/show&&type=RCItem&page=0&noaccess_page=0/display/id=219215] published in 2007 by Mintel estimated the UK gift experience market to be worth £98 million. Activity experiences is identified as a growth area.
Experiential gifts also capitalize on consumers growing comfort level with purchasing gifts online. According to a November, 2006 [http://www.conference-board.org/utilities/pressDetail.cfm?press_ID=3012 survey] conducted by TNS on behalf of
The Conference Board , 35 percent of all consumers planned to buy holiday gifts on the Internet in 2006.Resources
* [http://www.mywire.com/pubs/USATODAY/2005/11/30/1100026?extID=10051 USA Today article] on Experiential gifting
* [http://thebrandbuilder.blogspot.com/2007/05/what-is-transumer-and-why-should-i-care.html The brandbuilder blog] on transumers
* http://www.redballoondays.com.au
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
